Editor’s Note:Patrick Garvin is an in-house product specialist and ecommerce expert here at J&P Cycles, lending his extensive motorcycle and motorcycle parts knowledge to the website and to the blog. This is the first in a two-part series about his working relationship with a 35-year-old beauty named Suzuki.

About six years ago I found myself traveling back and forth on a regular basis through Illinois for business. I’d time my trips so I could stop off for lunch in a small spot in the road called Prophetstown.

Now the only reason I was making stops in this one-horse town is that I’d stumbled across a pretty damned fine hotdog … Continue Reading

Just before I set out on my trip to Sturgis this year, I decided to throw a new set of shoes on the ZX-10R. I’d heard all the hype surrounding the Dunlop Q2’s when these tires were released a while back, what with the media claiming they were great, resulting in faster lap times and so on and so on.

But the hype still left me wondering about the tire’s abilities on the street. I was pretty certain they performed quite well at the hands of experts on the racetrack, but I had questions about how well they would operate under a bit of a whack job like myself (especially … Continue Reading

Everything’s packed up and put away, and the 2011 season is a distant memory as riders and teams in the AMA Outdoor Nationals begin to get ready for the 2012 Supercross season.

Ryan Villopoto put his Kawasaki on the podium enough times this year to win both the AMA Supercross and Motocross titles, while Ryan Dungey struggled through the tail end of the season, unable to retain his 2010 No. 1 plate.

Once the outdoor season ends, the teams and riders start negotiating for the upcoming season to decide what team they’ll be riding for. The contract negotiations usually start right after the last race and continue for a few … Continue Reading

Most of our Meet the Team introductions have been with J&P staff members who have been with us a long time. Today, we’re changing that up a bit in order to fill you in on two of the newer members of our team. These two gentlemen joined us within the last nine months and both guys are sharp as tacks and equally fun to work with.

October 19, 2011 | By: Troy Porter

Editor’s Note:This post was authored by Troy Porter, J&P Cycles’ Iowa showroom supervisor and a hunting enthusiast. What he writes here could save your life this fall.

Autumn isn’t the least bit subtle here in Anamosa, Iowa. It comes on strong with a change in temperature, darker skies for the commute both ways, and of course the unbelievable colors presented by fall leaves. If you’re a motorcycle enthusiast, you know that few things are as beautiful as an autumn ride through the rolling hills in Iowa. And a lot of us are taking full advantage of it.

Unfortunately, fall also spells the end of the riding season — damn … Continue Reading

The 19th edition of Biketoberfest got underway yesterday in Daytona Beach, Fla., and while many states are chilling up, those of us lucky enough to live and work in Florida are at a point where a light jacket is reasonable evening wear.

And the onset of what we call fall here in Florida only accents the sounds of motorcycle engines, the shine of chrome and the smells of various meats on sticks.

If you can find your way down here, you will most assuredly not be disappointed. In fact, the only drawback to Biketoberfest is there’s not enough time to squeeze it all in. The event runs through … Continue Reading

It goes without saying that suppliers are the lifeblood of J&P Cycles, and one of our longest-running partnerships is with Rivera Primo, a quality motorcycle parts manufacturer that operates out of a 40,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility in Whittier, Calif.

Formerly known as Rivera Engineering, Rivera Primo was founded by a television repairman named Mel Magnet who came up with the great idea back in the early ’70s to use a British carburetor on the Harley-Davidson V-twin engine. This carb, which was usually found on Jaguars and MG automobiles, was known as the SU (abbreviation for Skinners Union). The SU was fantastic right out of the box, and Mel discovered … Continue Reading

It’s not often in the motorcycle world that something truly new comes along. But in the case of longtime performance exhaust manufacturer Akrapovic, something new has come along and it’s moving pretty fast.

For years, Akrapovic has set the standard as the best of the best when it comes to performance sport bike exhaust systems, a factoid that is reinforced by the many factory superbike teams that install them on their bikes at the highest levels of racing.

And now, Akrapovic has made the decision to cross over a bit, releasing a new line of exhaust equipment for late-model Harley-Davidson motorcycles. They brought with them an innate ability for … Continue Reading

Every once in awhile you get a chance to make a difference in another person’s life. On October 4th we were called by a producer from the hit ABC television show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” and given such a chance. The weekly television show takes a deserving family and rebuilds their house in a single week. Last week, the ABC crew found itself in West Union, Iowa (about an hour and half north of J&P Cycles’ World Headquarters in Anamosa, Iowa) to surprise Audrey Gibbs and her six children.

Seven months after her husband died, Audrey had a brain aneurism that affected a quarter of her brain – leaving her … Continue Reading

Editor’s Note: Before we formally introduce our September winner — and that would be Mario Delgado of Milwaukee, Wis. — we should tell you that he and all future Readers’ Rides winners get a one-year membership in our J&P Gold Club. And that’s on top of just the incredible honor of the whole thing. So double congrats, Mario!

And for you folks who don’t happen to possess an award-winning bike, no problemo, because you’re still entitled to join the club any time you want. J&P Gold Club winners get up to 10 percent savings on discountable parts each day. They get up to 15 percent off on sales … Continue Reading